


Snapshots of Gotham

by Listentothelittlebird



Series: Code Bat [10]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Cassandra Cain is Black Bat, Gen, Imagine the amount of blackmail Tim and Babs have, Photographer Tim Drake, Stalker Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown is Batgirl, Tim Drake is Red Robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27381889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Listentothelittlebird/pseuds/Listentothelittlebird
Summary: Tim Drake had possibly the only photographic evidence of the Robins and Batgirls in existence, besides whatever footage Babs had saved to her database.Tim agreed with Babs - it was about time he updated that collection.
Relationships: Tim Drake & Barbara Gordon & Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne
Series: Code Bat [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964452
Comments: 22
Kudos: 556





	Snapshots of Gotham

“Happy birthday, Babs.”

Barbara Gordon had long grown used to the silent arrivals of the Bats. Usually, though, most of the boys would either not bother or not manage to disable all of the Clocktower’s security measures. She knew immediately who had arrived.

“Thanks, Red,” Babs replied in lieu of a greeting. Red Robin moved to stand beside her, peering curiously at her line of monitors. “How are your Birds of Prey doing?” he questioned, pulling off the black cowl that made him look bald more than anything.

“It’s a slow night - for everyone. If the first Boy Wonder hadn’t dropped by at midnight last night to wish me immediately, I bet he’d be here. He and Hood are still at their stakeout.” Babs gestured to some camera footage that was currently showing no movement.

“Wash out?” Red Robin guessed, a single eyebrow raised. “Wash out,” Babs agreed, “And Batman and Robin look like they’re playing rooftop tag.”

Tim whistled at that, “It takes a really boring night for Dami to loosen up like that without our prompting. I guess I had the right idea taking a break tonight.”

“You did,” Babs sighed. She finally turned away from her monitors and noted that his usual black cape had been switched out for something sturdier.

“Are those your gliding wings? Have you tested them out?” 

Tim’s eyes glinted excitedly as he nodded, “I was taking swan-dives off buildings the whole night. Ah, but before that,” he reached into the yellow utility sash strapped over his red tunic, which lacked his Red Robin logo. He pulled out a plain envelope that he placed onto the desktop, “Your birthday present.”

Babs raised an eyebrow, but Tim provided no hints. She peeled the envelope open, and what slipped out had her gawking.

It was a photograph from a long time ago - a dark Gotham night, with the light of a street lamp illuminating the path. Batgirl - _her_ Batgirl - was in the midst of taking out a few criminals that were holding an assortment of improvised weapons, caught mid-kick with her cape billowing behind her.

“Dang, Tim… and you never gave me this earlier?” Babs carefully slid the photo back into the envelope, placing it to the side. She would find somewhere to put that - maybe the drawer under her bed. 

Tim shrugged next to her, “I thought I had given most of the photos to Alfred for safekeeping, but that one must have been one of the few I kept for myself. I found it when going through my old camera box.”

Babs often forgot that before Tim was Robin, he was a really good stalker with really good camera skills. 

Hm…

“You took photos of Dick and Jason, and I have some photos of you-“ Tim squawked a “what?” at the declaration, “But you haven’t gotten around to taking some of Damian, have you?”

Tim tilted his head in confusion, realisation slowly dawning on his face. He settled on a look of contemplation, “D’you think I’d be able to sneak up on the kid?”

“...D’you think I’d be able to sneak up on everyone?”

“You tell me,” Babs snorted, and she could already see Tim’s brain whirring with pros and cons. He flicked his eyes to her, smirking, “If you keep this quiet from the others, you get pictures of your choice - one for each Bat.”

“Deal,” they shook on the agreement. Tim pulled his cowl back on, calling out as he slipped out the window, “I’ll tell you when the plan’s in motion!”

~

It was one of those nights when everyone was in Gotham. 

“O, the plan starts tonight,” Tim spoke over his private comms.

“Alright, Double R. I’ll only call if we need you,” Babs agreed. 

Tim grinned and cut the connection. Show time.

Tim was in his Gotham uniform, but a camera was hanging from the strap around his neck. He resolved to use only the kinds of ledges and hideaways that younger him loved, opting not to take photos mid-glide on his black gliding wings. That might have resulted in him crashing, anyway.

He first located his original target: Robin and Batman. Batman was with Commissioner Jim Gordon on the GCPD rooftop, with Robin crouched nearby in hiding. He was concealed by the shadows, but just close enough to listen in on the information being provided.

Tim managed to snap a picture from an even higher ledge, capturing both Robin and how he was angled at the edge of his rooftop, peering down on Batman next to the Bat Signal.

He tailed the Dynamic Duo for a short while, managing to capture Robin feeding treats to a stray cat with Batman brooding behind him. 

Nightwing dropped by soon after, and the two brothers split off from Batman. Tim pursed his lips and went after Nightwing and Robin, mentally noting to search for Batman later on.

Tim easily caught Nightwing mid-leap, his grin wide and genuine as he curled into a flip. Robin was behind him but still in frame, grappling instead of jumping, his own lips twitching up into the barest of smiles.

Tim left to find the other Bats after snapping one last photo of Nightwing ruffling Robin’s hair.

“Little brother,” the voice spoke quietly from the nearest shadow, and Tim stumbled minutely. He swivelled to face Cass as she inclined her head at his camera in question.

“Want a photo, Double B?” Tim grinned, aiming the lens at her. Cass smiled and struck a shy pose. Her head jerked at the sound of a scuffle nearby, and Tim reflexively snapped another shot. Candid photos were always cooler, in Tim’s opinion.

“Come with me?” Cass questioned, jerking her head towards the direction of the yell. She barely saw him nod before she was taking off, leaving Tim to chase after her over the rooftops.

They took care of the attempted mugging very quickly. The group of teens that they had saved were noticeably shaken, but had just enough nerves left to ask Black Bat for a selfie. Her and Spoiler were officially affiliates of the Birds of Prey, and as such were in the spotlight more often than the other core Bats.

Tim smiled from the shadows as the group snapped a single photo. By the time they had posed for the next photo, Black Bat was standing next to him.

The two of them retreated to a rooftop, where Cass pointed to his camera and demanded a selfie that included Tim. Somehow, she had also managed to snag the camera. Tim was fairly sure she had snapped a photo as he glanced over the edge of the building, checking that the teens were getting home safely. 

She handed his camera back with a teasing wink. “Show me,” she pointed at the camera. Tim nodded with a smile, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll show you and Babs when they’re all developed.”

He found Batgirl and Red Hood bickering over whether their grappling lines could make it to the other side of the street, from where they stood. Given the height of the building across from them, the answer was no. Still, Steph was insisting that Jason let her try.

Jason shrugged, backing off with his arms raised in surrender. Batgirl fired off her grapple and promptly missed the rooftop by a few windows. 

Tim managed to capture Steph’s aghast expression, even as Jason bent over in a chortle, one gloved hand clutching just below the red bat that had been added to his Gotham body armour. His smile was nearly hidden under his hood, which hung low over his bowed head.

Tim barely withheld a snort of his own when Batgirl scowled and raised a fist at Jason, who quickly backed off with his arms raised jokingly in a defensive block.

His siblings had all been stalked - it was time to locate the Bat himself.

Batman was in an alley when Tim found him. 

“Are you lost?” the question was spoken softly despite his growling baritone, the sound bouncing off the worn walls that were casting shadows around his form. 

Batman was crouched in front of a sniffling boy, who bobbed his head at the query.

“Do you know where you live? Your address?”

Batman stepped out of the shadows, his hands splayed and his stance open. The kid mumbled out an address, too quiet for Tim to hear, but it seemed to satisfy Batman.

“Do you want to ride in the Batmobile?” was the next question, and the boy’s eyes bulged in surprise. They only seemed to bug out even more when the Batmobile indeed came to a stop outside the alley. 

Batman rose to his feet, but he was still aiming his gaze at the young child beside him. “Come on,” he coaxed, hand outstretched, “Let’s take you home.”

Tim’s camera had lowered long ago. He simply watched on as Batman led the boy to sit in the passenger seat and strapped him in. The moment the modified car took off, Tim got up from his crouch and stretched. Time to call it a night.

He was nearing his own apartment when he spotted Batman in the distance, apparently having continued his patrol after taking the boy home.

He snickered as he captured a shot of Batman tripping over a malfunctioning grappling line on a rooftop.

~

“You still are the official Bat-stalker, Tim.”

“Well, gee-whizz, thanks,” Tim stated sarcastically, lips quirked up in a small smile as Babs sorted through the developed photos. Cass was leaning over her shoulder and pointing out her favourites, usually accompanied by giggles.

“You can keep some too, Cass, if you want,” Tim offered, but his sister shook her head. “Will not keep well,” Cass stated. She tapped a finger on his nose, “You keep them well.”

“She’s right about that - you’ve managed to keep your old photos really nicely,” Babs gestured to the framed Batgirl photo at the desk. The frame was such that it would darken to conceal the photo when need be - for example, whenever the Birds of Prey dropped by.

“Thanks,” Tim repeated, this time more sincerely. Babs selected a photo for each Bat and returned the rest of the box to Tim.

“I’m sure Alfred wouldn’t mind having some of these for himself. Otherwise, you should keep the rest - some day, Code Bat might be lifted, and you’d need them to explain things better to your teammates,” Babs shrugged, “You never know - maybe we can release some to the internet at some point.”

“Ambitious, but it could happen,” Tim hummed, “Damian’s the only one of us left to really need the non-affiliation protection. Even then, it might do him good for people to know of his connections. I don’t think anyone would want to mess with him, then.”

“Yes, but Dami needs to prove himself,” Cass murmured. Tim gestured for her to continue, “Dami would want to… leave the nest. Be his own person - once he’s found himself, then Code Bat can be lifted.”

“Sounds like a new identity. Well, in the meantime, you owe me for giving you blackmail, Babs. I know which ones you picked.”

“I guess. Just remember that I still have photos from your Robin days.”

**Author's Note:**

> Probably a few more random tidbits before I really try to tackle Damian and how he fits into everything... stabby boi’s gonna get his own character development if it’s the last thing I do


End file.
